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(No M 11 1.)

E. R. ELLSWORTH. PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR IHE MANUPAGTURE OF GAS.No. 506,168. m6111191 001. 3.1893.

Unirse States Parent Ormea@ EDWIN R.. ELLSVORTH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.,ASSIGNOR TO CLARENCE O. DOUDEN, OF PLACE.

redness or AND APPARATUS Foa THE MANUFACTURE F GAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 506,168, dated October3, 1893.

l Application filed January 23, 1893. Serial No. 459,434. (No model.) i

llo all, whom t may concern.-

Be it known that l, EDWIN R. ELLswoRrI-I, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of'lroolrlyn, in the county of Kings and State`with refractory material.

.of New York, have invented a new and useful Process of and Apparatusfor the Manufacture of Gas', of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the manufacture of gas which is wholly or partlyformed by passingvapors containing hydrocarbon in ahi'ghly divided statethrough a heated receptacle for the' purpose of disorganizing them andrecombining them with other of the component parts of the gas, andconsistsof the process and of the devices and combinations hereinafterdescribed and claimed whereby a new and useful gaseous aggregate isproduced.

The drawing represents a sectional elevation of my improved apparatusfor the manufacture of gas.

. Referring to the drawing, my apparatus in which the process ofmanufacture is carried on consists of a vertically elongated furnace Acontained in a cylindrical iron shell B lined It is provided with atiring door B and an ash-pit door B2, bot-h capable of beinghermetically sealed at will. A grate D serves to support a thick bed ofcoal or oo ke D. The retort E is suspended from the top ofthe structureso that its lower end is within a few inches of the bed of coal D andits cylindrical shell is pierced by nu-v merous hles which are threadedto receive a series of copper rods, e, e, e tightly screwed into themand which project into the interior ofthe retort andnearly to theopposite side of it.

Contained in the refractory lining of the furnace near, its upper end isthe annular lflue F, which connects with the interior of the furnace bythe openings F,'F, and with the chimney by the flue F2 which is providedwith a valve F3- by which it may beclosed; a pipe F4, provided with avalve F5 connects the flue F with the bottom of the retort E; this pipeis preferably contained in the refractory 1ining of the furnace asshown.

The retort A is provided at its upper end with an eduction pipe G bywhich the gas formed is conveyed to anholder; on leaving the retort thispipe is perpendicular for a certain distance and incloses a smaller pipeG,the purpose of which will be 'explained later.' Below the grate, atthe bottom of the structure are placed a pipe I-I through whichcompressed air may be forced into the furnace and a pipe K through whichsteam may be introduced. Entering into the bottom of the retort E is apipe L which connects with a receiver L placed outside of the structure.A vacuum blower is connected to the receiver by a pipe entering it at apoint about equidistant from its top and its bottom; this blower N hasits inlet openings hermetically closed save for a pipe N connecting withthe steam supply, and is driven at a high rate of Speed by a beltrunning on its pulley N3. The Y pipe N2 connects with a'tank containingthe liquid hydrocarbon, which is placed at such Y an elevation that thehydrocarbon will descend by gravity to the blowerNon the valve beingopened'. By means of the peep-holes M. M. M., the interior of -thefurnace and of the retort may be inspected.

'I The operation ot the'plant is as follows:l A iirehaving been built onthe grate D, the iirepot is illedv with coal or coke and compressed airis forced in by the pipe H until the coal is brought to a state ofincandes. cence and the retort E has attaineda bright red heat; thevalve F3 is then closed and F5 opened, the admission of air through thepipe H is stopped and steam is introducedby the pipe K. At the same timethe blower N is set in motion and a small quantity of steam is admittedby the pipe N while hydrocarbon is admitted by the pipe N2. By means ofthe vacuum blower N the hydrocarbon is broken up into an impalpablespray, just enough steam being admitted to the blower to preserve thevacuum. This is an important feature ot 'my process as the presence ofany considerable quantity of steam in this vapor, when introduced intothe retort will dis- 9 5 turb and prevent the chemical reactionsdesired. A vapor isvthus formed containing a very small quantity ofsteam and a maximum quantity of hydrocarbon; this passes to the hollow,preferably cylindrical receiver L roo where any unvaporized particlesare removed by gravity and from thence to the retort E by the pipe L.The steam admitted at K, passing up through the`bed of coals D is decomposed and crude water gas is formed, which passing out of the furnace bythe llues F. and F is conducted by the pipe F4 to the bottom of theretort E where it mingles with the vapor entering from the pipe L asbefore described. The valve Gf2 of the pipe G', which isconnected withan overhead supply of water, is now opened, and water is allowed toenterv the retort E drop hydrop, having 'first been heated by itspassage through the lower" In my process the order in which the crudewater gas, the hydrocarbon vapor and the nascent steam are broughttogether as herein stated is highly essential, any deviation from theprocess`v as here laid down, materially altering the 4results obtained.After a certain time, the heat of the apparatus having become reduced,it will be necessary to stop and4 heat up again; to this end the bloweris stopped, N N 2 and G closed, the valve F3 is opened and F5 closed,theadmission of steam at K is discontinued and air is again admitted at H,more coal is added tothe fire if necessary and the apparatus is heatedas before.

What I claim as newand of my invention 1s 1. The process ofmanufacturing gas, which consists in heating a retort adjacent to a bedof incandescent coals, passing steam through said bed of coals toproduce crude water gas, forming an attenuated vapor containing amaximum of hydrocarbon, conveying said water gas and said vaporseparately into said heated retort and mixing them therein, then addingto said mixture superheated steam formed by admitting water to theheated retort, drop by drop, and finally passing the gaseous mixture through and from the retort, substantially as described.

- 2. In an apparatus for making gas, the combination of a verticallyelongated furnacev having a grate in its lower portion and pro- .55vided at the top kvvith'a valved exit flue, means with the retort andprovided with supply pipes through which said blower is connected withsources of steam and hydrocarbon oil, and a drip pipe connecting theupper end of the re- 'tort with a source of water supply, substantiallyas described.

4. In apparatus for gas making,the combination of a retort provided withone or more copper rods proj ecting into its interior, a 'pipeconnecting with a supply of hydrocarbon vapor, a pipe connectingwith-asu pply of water-gas and a drip-pipe connecting with a supply ofwater, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as .ny invention I have signedmy name, in presence of two witnesses, this 5th day of January,

. EDWIN R. ELLSWORTII. Witnesses:

CLARENCE O. DOUDEN, JOHN II. MILLER.

